Tag Archives: teaching abroad

This month’s expat profile features a talented woman who wears up to different hats every day. if not more. She’s a Jamaican-born and raised, award-winning freelance filmmaker who recently left the airline industry to pursue her dream of living abroad or rather, outside the US.

Keeping up with Diana is an adventure in itself – when she’s not busy flying off to Jamaica to film her documentary on jerk cuisine (now in its editing stages – can’t wait), she’s teaching her students English in Indonesia, while exploring the country, travel blogging and writing.

Diana’s leap of faith to pack up, sell her stuff and move to Asia is inspiring and shows that any of you dreaming to live and work abroad can do it, too. And as she tells us, it doesn’t have to take that long or cost that much to move.

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NAME: Diana O’Gilvie

Diana in Bali

PATRIA: Jamaica

OCCUPATION: Filmmaker, Writer, Blogger, Teacher

CURRENT LOCATION: Jakarta, Indonesia

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Tell me about yourself in one sentence.

I am finally taking care of me.

Love that! You’re originally from Jamaica – where on the island did you grow up and how old were you when you left?

I grew up in Kingston and St. Andrew. I migrated to the US when I was the tender age of 17 years old.

And from the US you moved to Indonesia. How long were you living in the US and what brought about your decision to move abroad?

After living and working in America for 15 years I decided that I wanted to live an international life. I was burnt out from working just to pay the bills – rent for a nice apartment that I hardly ever saw and a cool car I hardly I ever drove. I knew there was more to life than the proverbial rat race and I earnestly sought that out.

Did you consider other countries or were you sure you wanted to be there?

The fun part was choosing a country. I went out and bought a globe, sat in my living room as I spun it and fantasized about where >>Continue reading »